1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an electromagnetic water supply valve that controls the supply of water and, more particularly, to an electromagnetic water supply valve that has a structure for preventing a tube from being detached, which is connected to an inlet and an outlet for water.
2. Description of Related Art
Various types of electromagnetic valves, which control the supply of water in refrigerators, have been developed and used to the present. Such an electromagnetic valve has an inlet in one portion of the body thereof through which water supplied from the water supply pipe flows in and an outlet in another portion of the body through which the water flows out to the user side. A valve chest is disposed between the inlet and the outlet, and a valve seat is provided in the valve chest. The valve seat is opened and closed by a valve plate that is driven by a movable core, which is actuated by a magnetic force from an electromagnet.
Here, tubes are essentially connected to the inlet side or the outlet side of the electromagnetic valve in order to provide pipelines through which water flows in or is supplied to the user side. The tubes are fitted into the inlet/outlet side. The tubes, which are coupled to the inlet/outlet side of the body of the electromagnetic valve, are required to have coupling force, which facilitates insertion and detachment, keeps the watertight state, and prevents detachment in response to a change in the pressure of water.
Accordingly, coupling structures have been developed and used, which facilitate the insertion and detachment of the tubes, keep the tubes in the watertight state, and prevent the tubes from being detached in response to a change in the pressure of water. As an example thereof, a lock ring and a finishing member are sequentially disposed in the inlet/outlet side. The lock ring is disposed in the inlet/outlet side such that it allows a stator and a tube to be inserted in one direction. The finishing member closes the outer end of the inlet/outlet side and, in cooperation with the stator, forcibly fixes the lock ring and guides the insertion of the tube. A mover is inserted into the inlet/outlet side such that it can move inwards and outwards through the finishing member, so that the lock ring, which has been coupled with the tube, can be released from the tube with one push. Consequently, the tube can be easily detached.
Such a coupling structure, which facilitates the attachment and detachment of the tube, has made it easy to replace or repair parts. However, the tube is frequently detached from the valve, since the coupled state of the tube is not stable.
In addition, the above-described coupling structure for the tube depends on the lock ring. The lock ring is made of an elastic plate having a substantially annular shape by cutting it in the radial direction from the inner circumference to the outer circumference, and then rolling it. The lock ring has a conical shape such that an entrance through which the tube is inserted is wider and an exit is gradually narrowed. Consequently, the exit side contracts and expands in response to the detachment and insertion of the tube so that the lock ring is coupled with the tube.
The lock ring, which contracts and expands in this fashion, has a certain modulus of elasticity so that it can flexibly contract and expand in response to the detachment and attachment of the tube. Here, the modulus of elasticity of the lock ring is not greater than the abnormal pressure of supply water. When an excessive pressure that is above a normal pressure occurs in the pipeline, the lock ring tends to be deformed by the abnormal pressure of water, so that the coupling force of the tube is decreased.
As such, the coupling structure using the lock ring fails to properly cope with irregular changes in the pressure of supply water inside the pipeline. Since the coupled structure of the tube is not stable, water leaks, and the tube is frequently detached from the inlet/outlet side, thereby decreasing the reliability of the product.
Recently, the coupling structure aimed at the convenient detachment of the tube as above has been considered unreliable because of its instability. Therefore, a novel fixing method that can more securely maintain the installation state of the tube is demanded.
The information disclosed in this Background of the Invention section is only for the enhancement of understanding of the background of the invention, and should not be taken as an acknowledgment or any form of suggestion that this information forms a prior art that would already be known to a person skilled in the art.